Back in black
- Hannah Tapping
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
Words by Hannah Tapping
Elegance and performance in one impossibly sophisticated package from Porsche.
Arriving at Porsche Centre Exeter is akin to stepping into the foyer of a five-star hotel. The moment you’re inside, you’re enveloped in an unmistakable Porsche scent, subtly piped through the air conditioning like an aromatic promise of speed. A barista is on hand, brewing coffee for those who wish to stay awhile…and why wouldn’t you? The space is immaculate and indulgent, cars positioned with precision, allowing just the right amount of space to fully admire them from all angles.
I’m here to test drive the Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid Black Edition, an SUV designed to combine a sporty feel with a high level of comfort while enhancing standard equipment and style with accentuating details finished in gloss black. Of course, as with all Porsches you can configure your own and so, while its name derives from the detailing, interior and exterior, colours and options are pretty endless. There’s no getting away from the fact that this is a sizeable vehicle – weighing in at a smidge under 2.5 tonnes unladen weight and measuring just shy of 5m nose to tail – however, my ride is without doubt a beautiful one nevertheless, resplendent in Vanadium Grey Metallic.
Porsche’s designers have cleverly kept some of the sleek lines and curves that the marque’s racing stock is known for, but combined them with the driving essentials required of today’s SUVs. Inside, it’s peak modern Porsche: screens, leather and buttons that click with the confidence of German engineers who know they’re right. The heated seat switch is attention to detail at its finest and, as I pull away, my seatbelt gently tightens as if tucking me in safely for the journey ahead. Little things you might say, but they add to make the ultimate Porsche experience. It’s luxurious without being gaudy, sporty without being juvenile. I feel important sat in here.
Typically on the day of my test drive, Britain is doing what it does best: hurling water at itself with biblical enthusiasm. The M5 has ceased to be a motorway and instead become a sort of elongated, angry estuary. Spray is flying everywhere, visibility is measured in inches, but into this aquatic Armageddon glides the Cayenne.. silently, at first. As it’s a plug-in hybrid when you initially pull away on electric power alone it makes little noise. This does feel a little unsettling when surrounded by trucks throwing up tidal waves, but I soon got used to stealth-state SUV.
Under the bonnet – well, under the bonnet and also under the floor and in various other places – there’s a 3.0-litre turbocharged V6 petrol engine paired with an electric motor and a 25.9kWh battery. Combined output is 519 horsepower producing 750Nm of torque. These numbers matter because they explain why this thing behaves less like a sensible hybrid and more like an escaped supercar wearing hiking boots.
On the sodden M5, this powertrain is a marvel. The electric motor fills in all the gaps, so there’s no hesitation, no turbo lag, just instant shove. I squeeze the throttle at 60mph and the Cayenne surges forward with calm confidence. Porsche claims 0–62mph in about 4.7 seconds and I can believe it. Even in the rain. Even with standing water. The four-wheel drive system, working with Porsche Traction Management, simply shrugs and says, “Yes, that’s fine,” while lesser SUVs would already be spinning gently into the central reservation.
And this is where the engineering witchcraft really shows itself. The Cayenne weighs well over two tonnes – more if you’ve filled it with children and dogs – but thanks to active suspension, adaptive dampers and a centre of gravity lowered by that battery pack, it stays astonishingly flat. Through standing water at motorway speeds, it never feels nervous. It feels planted, calm and lightly smug.
Inside, you’re cocooned from the weather and the madness. The Black Edition brings acres of leather, brushed aluminium, and glossy black trim that look magnificent right up until the moment you touch it. The tech is serious: a curved digital driver display, a central touchscreen that actually responds like it should and enough driver assistance systems to make you feel slightly redundant. Take the head-up display. Normally these are a bit of a gimmick, projecting some jittery numbers onto the windscreen like an early PlayStation. Not here. In the Cayenne, it’s crisp and eerily precise. Speed, navigation, driver assists, all floating serenely ahead of me, exactly where my eyes already are. On a day when visibility is measured in hope and optimism, it’s brilliant. I barely need to look down at all, which means more time watching lorries create their own weather systems.
Eventually, the rain relents just enough to let me peel off the M5 and head into the Somerset Levels, where the roads roll and curve gently through fields that look like they’ve been considering becoming lakes. This is not sports-car territory. This is tractor country. And yet… switch the drive mode to Sport and the Cayenne tightens itself like a tiger ready to pounce. The steering gains weight, the suspension firms up and suddenly this meaty hybrid starts to behave like it’s late for something important. The electric motor and engine work together seamlessly, firing you out of bends with absurd force, while the chassis refuses to do anything dramatic or silly.
Grip, even on damp, greasy tarmac, is immense. You can feel the electronics constantly juggling torque, sending it where it’s needed, while the tyres just get on with the job. It’s fast without being frightening, capable without being arrogant. Which, for something this tall, is frankly bonkers.
Add in adaptive cruise control, lane keeping and traffic assist and it feels like it will practically drive itself back to Exeter if I ask it nicely. And yet, crucially, it doesn’t numb me. I still feel involved and connected and that is the real trick here.
On the motorway, with rain drumming on the roof and the adaptive cruise calmly managing the chaos ahead, I test out the the Bose sound system. This is where Porsche really loses its mind. Bass that thumps without booming, clarity so sharp it might cut itself and volume that turns the Cayenne into a private concert hall on wheels. I turn up AC/DC and enjoy the ride!
The Cayenne has protected me from the worst conditions I think I have ever driven in. It has fed me information without stress, kept me warm like a contented cat, and all while being capable of humiliating sports cars the moment the road opens up. So, how to sum up the Cayenne S E-Hybrid Black Edition? It’s a family car that can embarrass sports cars; it’s a hybrid that doesn’t hate you for enjoying yourself; and it’s proof that Porsche, once again, has taken an idea that sounds terrible in the pub and turned it into something brilliant. It makes no sense, but I absolutely love it.
